Accessibility at Shakespeare Infant School

What facilities does the school provide to help disabled pupils to access the school?

What facilities do school provide to:

increase the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the school’s curriculum

improve the physical environment of the school for the purpose of increasing the extent to which disabled pupils are able to take advantage of education and benefits, facilities and services provided or offered by the school

improve the delivery to disabled pupils of information which is readily accessible to pupils who are not disabled ( Paragraph 3 of schedule 10 Equality Act 2010

• There are regular open days for parents to view the setting and ask relevant questions.

• There is a comprehensive transition plan for the children and parents please see in section below on transferring to a new school.

• The school site is wheelchair accessible with 2 disabled toilets large enough to accommodate changing in. These are located in Year R and the modular building. The school is all on one level with ramps at specified fire exits.

• An evacuation plan is kept for any child or adult with a disability to ensure their safety in an emergency situation.

• The school is equipped with a hearing loop at reception.

•The school has previously been made safe and accessible for any child with a visual impairment – all steps inside and out highlighted with high visibility paint and area’s kept safe from clutter.

•Any areas identified by mobility officers or a school risk assessment can always be adjusted to meet the needs of individuals. For example, fitting hand rails in toilets.

•We ensure our classrooms are accessible and adapted to the individual needs of children diagnosed with Autism. Examples of this may look like: the use of mutually agreed routines, preparation for change, visual supports, sand timers, simplified communication, the use of social stories, making the environment more comfortable with the use of ear defenders or wobble cushions, teaching peers about tolerance and acceptance, the use of workstations, incorporate special interests into learning, use of emotion and anxiety scales, time out cards, sensory diets and continued good communication with parents.

•We ensure our classrooms are dyslexic friendly. This may look like: having a designated quiet area of the classroom to work in, having areas of the classroom with important information needed to start work, using high contrast coloured paper and backgrounds on the interactive whiteboard, using multisensory lessons, using scaffolding in lessons, giving more time to complete work and knowing the individuals particular needs.

• Shakespeare Infant has clear communication through its website and weekly newsletters and communicates effectively with all its stakeholders.

•The school website has a facility that will translate all the information available to a variety of languages.

•We liaise with health teams and parents to ensure the dietary needs of individuals are met.

•We have a special table in the dinner hall, with an adult support to enable special diets and extra support with feeding when required.

• We liaise with EMTAS (Ethnic minority Achievement Service) who assist us in supporting our families with English as an additional language.

• We liaise with specialist teachers to ensure individual needs are met through careful planning and resourcing to access learning. For example, the use of larger print books and work sheets at the correct size for the individual, ensure regular medication for instance for diabetes or eczema is given at times where key learning or physical activity is not missed.

School will endeavour to make any reasonable adjustment to meet the needs of individuals – this may include access to computer aided technology, providing a variety of different forms of print, use of Makaton and different arrangement of the classroom to allow access or walking aids.